Posts in Category: You & Your Pet

Over the course of the year, we’ve had the pleasure and privilege to meet and reconnect with many of you and your pets. We’ve shared laughter as well as a few tears, and we’ve been grateful for all of it. 2018 was a very full year, full of learning new things and growing together.

Providing you with our weekly pet care blog is another way we share in ongoing learning. We are humbled that many of you are reading our blog, and we hope you’ve enjoyed topics on wellness care, seasonal safety, and specific illnesses that affect pets. In fact, we looked at which blogs resonated with you the most, and we’ve put together Blue Valley Animal Hospital’s top 10 most popular blogs of 2018.

Are you decking the halls this season? Most of us celebrate one or more of the winter holidays, which usually means partake in the delicious food, beautiful decorations, and friend and family gatherings that the season brings. Of course, we love to include our pets in this special time of year, they’re part of the family, after all!

But some of the things that come with holiday festivities can pose serious health and safety risks to our pets. Awareness, knowledge and attentiveness can go a long way to preventing a pet emergency. So before you get into the full hustle and bustle, let us help make the season merry and bright for your furry loved ones with our holiday pet safety tips.

The holidays are here, and for many of us, that means cozying up in the kitchen with our favorite recipes to share. Holiday tables and meals often mean family, and with 70% of pet owners considering pets a part of the family, sharing our favorite foods with them is the next logical step. But it this safe?

We’re all human, and it’s tough to resist those puppy dog eyes, but some traditional fare can pose serious risks to your pet’s health. Aside from adding a lot of calories and fat to your pet’s diet, over indulgence in high fat foods can trigger a condition called pancreatitis, which is painful and potentially life threatening.

Before you pull up a chair for your pet at the table, let’s explore holiday food safety for pets, and give you some pet friendly choices that you can feel good about.

Many of us anticipate the celebration of Halloween all year long. For children and adults alike, the costumes, treats, and parties surrounding Halloween can be great fun. But this holiday can be particularly spooky for our pets. Blue Valley Animal Hospital looks at some ways to make “Fright Night” both safe and fun for pets as well as the entire family.

Pet Safety on Halloween

Here are a few tips and tricks to think about when it comes to pet safety on Halloween.

As pet owners, some of the hardest decisions we ever make are surrounding end of life care for our pets. Sadly, pets never outlive us – so these are conversations and decisions we will all at some point have to face.

Knowing when it’s time to say goodbye to your pet is difficult as well because, of course, our pets can’t talk. It would be so much easier if our beloved friend could say, “it’s okay, I’m ready.” Since we regularly hear the question, “how will I know when it’s time to say goodbye?” we thought it would be a good time to give some guidelines and thoughts on making this difficult decision.

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy… Or, so the old song goes. Summer fun is right around the corner, but along with the good times come things that can hurt your pet and spoil that easy- living feeling. Here’s what you need to know about summer pet safety, so you can both enjoy the good life from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and beyond!

Sun Seekers

Pets may love basking in the warm sunshine, but sun can cause damage to their skin just as it can to ours. Especially if you have a light colored, thin-skinned, or white dog or cat, take care to protect them from sunburn. You may consider a PABA-free zinc oxide pet sunscreen, and apply it to their ear tips, top of the nose, and their face. Make sure that you don’t get it in their eyes, of course.

Summer pet safety also means considering outside surfaces that your pet might encounter. The sun cooks concrete, metal, and asphalt, and sensitive paws can burn on hot surfaces. Avoid walking over asphalt and always give pets a way to get out of the sun by providing access to shade at all times. Driving with your dog in the bed of a truck is a bad idea.Continue…

Even though spring hasn’t quite sprung yet in Kansas, we can be sure it’s on the way with many opportunities to get outside with your furriest buddy. You can envision it now: throwing the Frisbee to Fido, watching as he goes running to fetch it…but wait! There’s another dog in the park who suddenly growls at your pet, biting him unexpectedly on the neck. You run over to help and, seeing no blood, realize your pet doesn’t seem hurt. All’s well, right? Not so fast.

While there are many times when rushing your pet to the hospital may seem like a false alarm, there are definite times you should! The team at Blue Valley Animal Hospital can help you distinguish between an actual pet emergency and a “wait and see” scenario.